does the bag of my dreams exist?

[dustin_turin]

<p>I have been scouring the net, in and out of stores, and I just can't seem to find a bag that meets my needs. Can anyone make any suggestions?</p>

<p>This is what I am looking for:<br>

1.) Backpack<br>

2.) Must fit a 15" laptop, DSLR body w/battery grip and lens attached, 4 additional lenses (nothing huge), an external flash, and of course the various accessories (hoods, battery chargers, etc).<br>

3.) Must have a quick access feature whereby I can get my camera out without taking the bag off of my back. Most of my use is in foreign countries in areas where I already stick out too much, and taking the bag off my back to shuffle through gear is too big of a risk.<br>

4.) Must have a reasonable harness, preferably with waist strap and as many various attachments as possible.<br>

5.) Must be fairly rugged and have some degree of weather/waterproofing</p>

<p>Currently, I am using the Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 75 (http://tamrac.com/3375.htm) which remarkably fits that gear (though, its quite snug) and has a very convenient fast access pouch -- but the harness is just AWFUL and carrying this bag around all day when its full is not a nice experience, especially if you are doing anything rigorous like hiking.</p>

<p>I seem to be able to find lots of beautiful bags that meet all of my requirements EXCEPT for the quick access, which is really the deal breaker for me.<br>

Can anyone point me in the right direction?? Thanks!</p>

<p>-Dustin</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Have a look at the Thinktank "Rotation360"...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/rotation360-backpack.aspx">http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/rotation360-backpack.aspx</a></p>

[dustin_turin]

<p>The Roation360 is an awesome bag -- in fact, I tried it on today -- but, it doesn't hold a laptop so its a no go for me...</p>

[pjahans]

<p>Why do you want to carry a 15" laptop around all day? I don't think there is one bag that can do it all, unfortunately that's why I have six (so far), none of which holds a laptop...</p>

[john_s1]

<p >Have you seen this yet?</p>

<p > </p>

<p > Lowepro Fastpack 350</p>

<p ><a href="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Fastpack-350,2087,14.htm">http://products.lowepro.com/product/Fastpack-350,2087,14.htm</a><br>

 

<p ><a href="../filters-bags-tripods-accessories-forum/00WBae?unified_p=1"></a></p>

</p>

<p > It looks to have the same capacity for gear as yours and has a laptop pouch that holds my widescreen HP laptop. Not sure of it’s weather resistance however. Good luck in your search!</p>

<p > </p>

<p >John<br>

 

 

</p>

 

[joshuamck]

<p>LowePro Fastpack 250/350 or Kata 467/467i look like they possibly fit the bill<br>

Crumpler has a few that might be worth looking at (Customary Barge model or something like that) </p>

[anov]

<p>Tenba shootout also can carry laptop, has a quick access door on each side, comes in 3 sizes.</p>

[dustin_turin]

<p>Thanks for the tips, has anyone tried the Tenba Shootout (Med. or Large)? That looks like a really nice bag with lots of storage. On the website it shows the quick access pouches as being for lenses or other peripherals only, I am just wondering if you could configure the inserts so as to use the quick access for a camera?</p>

[adam_g7]

<p>I have the Tenba Shootout daypack and the sling. Both are great bags. Neither will hold a laptop. I use the sling all the time. I use the daypack more for storage because it is very large and I can fit most of what I need in the sling. </p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>One of the reasons that camera-and-laptop packs frequently <em>don't</em> make it easy to grab gear without taking the pack off, first, is so that it's harder for someone to do a snatch job in a crowded public situation. It it's super easy for you to grab your gear, it's easy for someone else, too. <br /><br />When I want to carry the gear you're descrbing, I use a Crumpler Karachi Outpost. But yes, I have to unsling the bag to grab my camera. In that case, I like it that way. <br /><br />With that bag, I can carry a camera, several lenses, a flash, lots of little odds and ends, and a 17-inch laptop. And it looks nothing like a camera bag, which is nice when you're in dicey territory.</p>

[jonathan_kleinfeldt1]

<p>I have a Tenba shootout. I don't know offhand whether it's the medium ar large but it certainly holds a lot. I have a 35mm with motor drive, 3 lenses (1 attached), a Rolleiflex, flash, and hoods, filters, cords, etc. for both in it with room to spare. My tripod fits snugly on the outside too. With the waist harness it's very comfortable and well balanced. It fits your description exactly. The inside can be configured any way you like so you could basically use the quick access panels to access the entire inside if you like. The only limitation would be the size of the panel. I'll have to check when I get home to see if a camera body will pass through but I think it will. It also has all the weather proofing you'll ever need. The best part is, you can pop the entire inside out with your gear attached and use the bag as a regular backpack. Well worth the price as far as I'm concerned.</p>

[waltz]

<p>If you have access to a shoe repair place, you can easily add a good hip belt to your existing pack.</p>

<p><a href="http://kgear.com">Kinesis</a> makes modular gear somewhat similar to ThinkTank, except they go one better and also sell the pieces you need to make other manufacturer's gear work with theirs. All you'd need is a <a href="http://www.kgear.com/store/index.php/b.html">belt</a> and their <a href="http://www.kgear.com/store/index.php/b/acc/b590.html">belt-to-pouch adapter</a>. Have the shoe repair place sew the adapter to the back of the backpack, down near the bottom. Make sure they leave about 1" free on each end, and you'll be able to attach the belt to your bag.</p>

<p>I have the medium Tenba ShootOut which is awesome for carrying lots of gear, but I have to say I think the "shootout" panels are a waste of time. They only zip on two sides, which means only half of the panel opens.</p>

[waltz]

<p>Oh, and if you have access to an outdoor outfitter like REI, you can buy those plastic lash points like the ones on the bottom of your bag and have the shoe repair place sew those at strategic locations around the bag, too. Or, just buy some Kinesis or ThinkTank pouches to attach to the Kinesis belt: both work.</p>

[dustin_turin]

<p>Thanks for all the great replies. I am going to checkout the Tenba Shootout, and also I think that's a really creative idea about visiting a shoe repair place to have the hip belt sewn on... sounds like an excellent back up plan!</p>

[dustin_turin]

<p>I bought a Tenba Shootout Medium today -- The bag is pretty slick and has a lot of features. I don't know how well the quick access side pockets will work with a camera body (the size of the hole definitely is not big enough for a camera with battery grip), but I guess I will have to sacrifice a little.<br>

<strong>Conclusion</strong>: I don't think the bag of my dreams does exist. Anyone work for a bag company?? I think if Kata has another "Dream Bag Challenge" or whatever they did this year, I will definitely participate.</p>

<p> </p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>yeah....you need 2 bags. One backpack for the full load, and one shoulder bag or fanny pack for the quick access equipment. If you're going backpacking, I prefer the backpack and fanny pack. If you are travelling in cities/towns, I prefer the backpack and shoulder bag.</p>

[richardsnow]

<p>Dustin...<br>

I was looking for a similar bag and depending on the thickness of your laptop, I think I have the perfect pack.</p>

<p><a href="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Classified-Sling-220-AW,2141,23.htm">Lowepro Classified Sling 220</a>.</p>

<p>I have this bag and love it...no need to carry a laptop bag and my camera pack.</p>

<p>It's not a full on backpack, but I find it easy to access EVERYTHING in my bag, which normally includes:<br>

Nikon D90 with 35mm f/1.8 Lens attached<br>

Nikon D70s w/ 50mm f/1.8 attached (Backup)<br>

Nikon 50mm f/1.4<br>

Nikon 105 DC f/2<br>

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8<br>

SB-400 flash<br>

Spare Batteries & Chargers<br>

5+ Memory cards, (Mix of SD and CF)<br>

15" Dell XPS Laptop with AC Adapter<br>

various other accessories<br>

AND, I still have room for a 14-24mm f/2.8 OR 24-70mm f/2.8 without removing the D70s If I remove the D70s I can get both in the pack. </p>

<p>Hope this helps,<br>

RS</p>

[dustin_turin]

<p>Richard,<br>

Thanks for the info. That looks like a nice bag, and I would love to be able to use a sling like that particularly because of the light weight and less bulk. But, I think a full on backpack is better for hiking, etc. Anyway, I'll provide an update about the Tenba once I've use it a bit.<br>

So far, have loaded the following gear:<br>

Canon 5DmkII Body w/grip and 24-125 attached<br />Canon 40D body<br />Canon 50mm macro<br />Canon 50mm prime<br />Canon 75-300mm Ultrasonic USM III (f4-5.6 -- cheapo zoom)<br />Tamron 17-35<br />Canon speedlite flash unit<br />Multiple hoods<br />MacBook Pro 15"<br />+ lots of little odds and ends<br>

The only downside I can see right away is that its pretty bulky and I can see that it probably won't fit very nicely in smaller sized overhead compartments (though there is a very sleek built in way to hide the backpack straps for that purpose). It's also relatively heavy at something like 6.5lbs empty, and there is no space for something like a book or snack inside the pack. I am thinking I will probably reorganize the inside a bit in order to use one of the side & interior pockets for that purpose.<br>

On the other hand though, everything fits really nicely with plenty of room to spare at the moment. The bag is beautifully built and has a nice harness system making it comfortable enough even loaded with all my gear. I think anyone who shoots outdoors in rugged terrain and has to think about weather conditions would be very happy to put their stuff in this bag.<br>

I'm taking it on a 2-mo international trip, so I expect to put it through its paces. Optimistic from this side of the journey though.</p>

[agitater]

<p>The Kata 3N1-33 fits your bill exactly. Backpack or sling carry, side access (so you don't have to fully dismount the thing, capacity for the gear on your list along with your laptop, and a relatively trim profile. It happens to be a decent carry too - comfort on long walkabouts aren't a problem.<br>

Howard Carson<br />Managing Editor, <a href="http://www.kickstartnews.com">Kickstartnews</a></p>

[bmm]

<p>Dustin - funny I posted a similar question recently in the Nikon forum after realising that I have been through 7 or 8 bags in the last 3 years, and have settled not just on one but on a group of 3 that I choose from depending on the circumstance.</p>

<p>My gut feel for what its worth is that the bag you seek will be great for lugging of your gear, secure storage and transit (eg in aircraft, cars, etc). But surely carrying it all day will start wearing thin extremely quickly with all that gear in it as it will be heavy and cumbersome and obtrustive.</p>

<p>Far better to use such a bag to get your gear safely to your destination, and then have a much smaller bag that is built for comfort and flexibility in which you can put a subset of your gear (eg one body and a couple of lenses) for each day's outing. That, to me, is a much sounder recipe for enjoyment.</p>

<p>But because I want to make a suggestion based on your original post rather than just voice my opinon, check out the Vanguard Up-Rise range. The '46' and '48' models both hold laptops as well as lots of photography gear (I have the smaller '43' model and it is really good) <a href="http://www.vanguardworld.com/index.php/en/products/photo-video/list-1-1-4.html">http://www.vanguardworld.com/index.php/en/products/photo-video/list-1-1-4.html</a></p>

<p>I also second Howard in suggesting Kata which is another brand that instantly came to mind for your requirement.</p>

[gdrastal]

<p>Kata offers two "families" of backpacks with a sling capability: the 123 style and the 3N1 style that you should look at. While I don't own either style, I do have two other Kata packs ... one a traditional backpack, the other a small sling pack that holds only the SLR and one lens or flash. Both are exceptionally well designed and I've worn them on day-long hikes without discomfort. I expect you will find several manufacturers that offer the features you desire, but beware if they don't have experience designing their packs to be hauled around on a human back all day. That's where I found the Kata bags excel. It's also somewhat helpful that the name is not too well known yet, so not every would-be thief will realize that you're carrying around $thousands in gear.<br>

That said, do give some thought to lightening your load. How often do you really use each lens on a trip?</p>

[dustin_turin]

<p>Thanks for the great replies. Both the Kata 3n1 and the Vanguard Up-Rise look like excellent packs. The only reason I didn't spring on the 3n1 is because I had read some reviews complaining about the comfort of the harness with a heavy bag.</p>

<p>I took B M Mills suggestion actually to purchase a second day bag that I can easily pack with me. I think it will be a good solution for my current needs.</p>

<p>I purchased a Lowepro Exchange Messenger -- a $29 bag that weighs next to nothing, holds my camera and two extra lenses, and will easily fit in the bottom of my suitcase. The padding is pretty thin, but that's what makes it easy to put at the bottom of a suitcase.</p>

[alex_lofquist]

<p>That's not a nice way to talk about your "dream girl"!</p>